Casting Announced for ABT's Final Two Weeks at The Met

Casting for the seventh and eighth weeks of American Ballet Theatre's 2017 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Eight performances of Alexei Ratmansky's Whipped Cream will begin on Monday,
June 26, led by Jeffrey Cirio as The Boy, Hee Seo as Princess Tea Flower, Cory Stearns as Prince Coffee and Misty Copeland in her debut as Princess Praline. Marcelo Gomes will dance the role of Prince Coffee for the first time at the matinee on Wednesday, June 28. The week will also include New York debuts by Herman Cornejo as The Boy on Tuesday, June 27 and by Gillian Murphy as Princess Tea Flower on Thursday, June 29. Set to a score by Richard Strauss, Whipped Cream features scenery and costumes by Mark Ryden and lighting by Brad Fields. Whipped Cream received its World Premiere on March 15, 2017 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, led by Daniil Simkin as The Boy, Stella Abrera as Princess Tea Flower, David Hallberg as Prince Coffee and Sarah Lane as Princess Praline.

The season will conclude with the Tchaikovsky Spectacular, a week of repertory programming set to the music of Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky. Seven performances, July 3 through 8, will include George Balanchine's Mozartiana and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Alexei Ratmansky's Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Aurora's Wedding and The Nutcracker pas de deux and Gomes' AfterEffect.

Souvenir d'un lieu cher will receive its Company Premiere on Monday, July 3, performed by Stella Abrera, Marcelo Gomes, Sarah Lane and Alban Lendorf. Devon Teuscher, David Hallberg, Cassandra Trenary and Tyler Maloney will debut in these roles at the matinee on Saturday, July 8. Souvenir d'un lieu cher is set to music of the same name by Tchaikovsky, orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov. Featuring sets and costumes by Keso Dekker with lighting by James F. Ingalls, the ballet for four dancers received its World Premiere by Het National Ballet on February 16, 2012 in Amsterdam.

Aurora's Wedding will premiere at the matinee on Wednesday, July 5 led by Isabella Boylston (Princess Aurora), Alban Lendorf (Prince Desire), Devon Teuscher (Diamond Fairy), Skylar Brandt (Princess Florine) and Zhiyao Zhang (Bluebird). Aurora's Wedding, Act III of Ratmansky's staging of The Sleeping Beauty with choreography by Marius Petipa, will the omit the Hop 'o my Thumb and Cinderella dances and add the Porcelain Trio, with choreography by Bronislava Nijinska, and Three Ivans, with choreography by Ninette de Valois. Set to music from The Nutcracker, both divertissements were created for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes staging of The Sleeping Princess in 1921. Three Ivans was first presented by Ballet Theatre as part of Princess Aurora (a suite of divertissements from The Sleeping Beauty) in 1941.

Additional debuts for the week include Daniil Simkin (Gigue) in Mozartiana and Joseph Gorak in Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux on Monday, July 3. On Wednesday evening, July 5, Christine Shevchenko and David Hallberg will debut in the leading roles of Mozartiana and James Whiteside will dance Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux for the first time with ABT. Hee Seo, Cory Stearns and Jeffrey Cirio will debut in Mozartiana on Thursday, July 7.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre's 2017 Metropolitan Opera House season, beginning at $22, are available online, at the Met box office or by phone at 212-362-6000. The Metropolitan Opera House is located on Broadway between 64th and 65th streets in New York City. For more information, visit ABT's website at www.abt.org.

AfterEffect has been generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

ABT gratefully acknowledges Lead Sponsor of The Sleeping Beauty, David H. Koch. Additional leadership support is generously provided by the Lloyd E. Rigler - Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation.

David H. Koch is the Lead Underwriter of American Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker.

American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre. Northern Trust is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. ABT is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.